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Bauyrzhan Zhauyntayev secures first judo gold of Nanjing 2014

Bauyrzhan Zhauyntayev (KAZ) won the first judo gold medal of the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games on 17 August, after a dominant display in the final of the men’s -55kg weight class against Natig Gurbanli (AZE).

However, his resistance was finally broken with just two seconds left and with the scores tied, when Zhauyntayev tossed him on to his shoulder for a waza-ari score.

There was no time for a comeback and a delighted Zhauyntayev said afterwards that he was always confident of victory. “I felt really strong during the final,” Zhauyntayev said. “I believed I would win that fight. “It was an unbelievable moment in my life.”

Gurbanli took the silver with Jorre Verstraeten (BEL) and Oguzhan Karaca (TUR) picking up bronze medals.

Hifumi Abe (JPN) had little difficulty in the final of the men's -66kg division, scoring two waza-ari tosses within the first two minutes against Bogdan Iadov (UKR) to win the gold medal.

The first waza-ari score came 25 seconds in by way of a crushing throw that put Iadov on his head and back. The second came just over a minute later, ending the contest as the two scores added up to a match-ending ippon point.

The silver medal went to Iadov with Sukhrob Tursunov (UZB) and Wu Zhiqiang (CHN) claiming bronze.